


Bedtime story

by S_Horne



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Awesome Sarah Rogers, Fluff, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, M/M, Older steve rogers, Team as Family, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Young Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-08-02 01:01:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16295309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/S_Horne/pseuds/S_Horne
Summary: “Yeah, sorry,” Bucky said with a roll of his eyes, “you big baby. Do you need me to read you a bedtime story?”“A what?”Steve looked down at Tony and repeated what Bucky had said. Tony lifted his head and scrunched his face up.“A what? A story about a bedtime?”Steve’s expression dropped into one of confusion as Bucky furrowed his brow. “A bedtime story.”Sam set his beer down on the coffee table, shoving Bucky’s leg out of the way. “You never had a bedtime story?”Tony’s gaze flickered between the three of them and something shuttered down. “Am I meant to have had one?” He felt like getting defensive, but he didn’t know what he was getting defensive about. “What...”





	Bedtime story

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know where this came from, but I had fun playing around with it.

Tony yawned, curling further into Steve’s side as he sighed contededly. Sam laughed and reached his leg out to kick at Tony’s side. 

“You young things, can’t stay up past 9.”

Tony stuck his tongue out when Steve chuckled along with him. It was a running joke that Tony was the baby of the group, despite being a month away from 21. Everyone else in their little group of friends was at least 26, having graduated college and settled into jobs and apartments already. 

Steve and Tony had met completely by accident when Steve had gotten lost looking for Bucky’s little sister on the college campus and had run into Tony. Quite literally run into him, actually. Books and papers had gone flying as Tony hit the floor. Steve had held out a hand to help Tony up and that was it; they’d been inseparable ever since.

“‘M not young,” Tony muttered. Steve bent and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. 

“No, you’re not,” he said placatingly, smiling into Tony’s messy hair when Tony preened. 

“Anyone want a beer?” Bucky called from the kitchen, poking his head out and around the door. 

“Me,” Sam said, holding his hand up when Bucky threw a can at him, pulling a face when condensation dripped on him. “Thanks.”

“Tony?” Bucky asked. 

Tony mumbled something into Steve’s shoulder and Bucky laughed. “I’ll take that as a no.”

Steve grinned. “I think that was a no, you’re right. I’ll have one – a real bottle though, I’m not drinking that cheap crap.”

Sam rolled his eyes and Bucky disappeared back into the kitchen. “Sorry, your highness. I enjoy this cheap crap.”

“And that’s fine for you. I, however, value my tastebuds.”

“Here you go,” Bucky came into the living room handed Steve his beer, dropping down onto the couch and throwing his legs up into the coffee table. “Anyone want chips?”

“What did you bring? I only want salt and vinegar.”

“Oh my god,” Bucky muttered, chucking a pack at Sam and reaching for another. “I live with a bunch of divas. Any other requests?”

“For you to be quiet,” Tony muttered into Steve’s armpit, startling a laugh out of him. 

“Sorry, sweetheart.”

“Yeah, sorry,” Bucky said with a roll of his eyes, “you big baby. Do you need me to read you a bedtime story?”

“A what?”

Steve looked down at Tony and repeated what Bucky had said. Tony lifted his head and scrunched his face up. 

“A what? A story about a bedtime?”

Steve’s expression dropped into one of confusion as Bucky furrowed his brow. “A bedtime story.”

Sam set his beer down on the coffee table, shoving Bucky’s leg out of the way. “You never had a bedtime story?”

Tony’s gaze flickered between the three of them and something shuttered down. “Am I meant to have had one?” He felt like getting defensive, but he didn’t know what he was getting defensive about. “What...”

“It’s a thing for kids,” Sam said slowly, far too gently, “when they’re in bed, you read them a story.”

“Like a, a book?”

“Well, yeah.” Steve stroked his hand over Tony’s hip softly. “A kid’s book. They’re short and full of colours, not much plot but happiness and warmth. Meant to send the kid off to sleep happily. They usually fall asleep half way through.”

“And the kid reads it? Like, a novel?”

“No. The parents read it.”

Tony’s head turned to Bucky and his face was utterly crushed. “The parents? Your parents read it?”

“Well, yeah.”

“They’re only short,” Sam said and Tony turned away at the look on his face. “Not novel length. But yeah, our parents read them when we were kids.”

Tony looked up to Steve. “You too?”

“Yeah.” Steve swallowed and let out a sigh. “Ma would tuck me into bed, pull the blankets right up round my chin and put my teddy by me. Then she’d sit next to me on the edge of the bed and I’d cuddle up to her side. When I was a little bit older she’d sit by the side of the bed instead, and she moved onto longer books. A chapter or so a night of things like Harry Potter.”

“Huh. Well. How about that?” Tony made to stand up. “Well, I’m gonna–”

Steve hooked his arm around Tony’s waist and pulled him back down, holding him close until he relaxed and fell into the embrace. 

“You never had one, huh?”

Tony shook his head at Bucky’s question, dropping his gaze to the rips in his jeans. “I never really had anyone to read one. There was always J, but he wasn’t allowed to spend too much time with me. Not in private at least – I wasn’t to be coddled. We were always in the kitchen or in the garden with Ana, but I put myself to bed most nights.” He paused and shrugged. “From the sounds of them, Howard probably would have said they were too babyish anyway. I should have been reading a textbook, if not writing my own.”

“That’s stupid,” Bucky said angrily, “you were a kid.”

Tony turned even more into Steve’s body, shoulders tensing as he tried to hide himself. Steve waved off Bucky’s sheepish look and the way he opened his mouth to apologise. 

“Hey, sweetheart,” Steve murmured to Tony, “Ma still has all of my old books in the loft. She said she needed to keep them for any grandkids I was gonna give her, but I know she’s been itching to get them down for months now. She’d give anything to go through them again – bet you she’d even pull out the albums too.”

There was a moment of silence before Tony’s soft voice, so timid and quiet. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“She wouldn’t think it was stupid?”

Steve scoffed and Tony huffed a tiny laugh. “When does my Ma think anything you do is stupid?”

“Will you ask her before we go on Sunday?”

“Sure, babe.” Steve dropped a kiss to the top of Tony’s head. “I’ll ring her tomorrow. Now,” he turned to Bucky and held up his hand. “Chuck me a bag of chips. Which ones do you want, Tony?”

Tony sniffed loudly and took another second to collect himself hidden in the safety of Steve’s side before he lifted his head. “Chicken. Always chicken.”

“Bleugh,” was the only warning Tony got before Bucky lobbed a bag across the room. “Chicken sucks.”

“And yet you bought them,” Tony snapped back cheekily, discreetly sniffing again as he repositioned himself. Steve lifted his arm and let Tony curl underneath it as he pulled open the bag, holding it between them. 

“Yeah, well, I…”

When Bucky trailed off, seemingly having no response to that, Tony let out a bubble of laughter.

“Want one?” he asked Steve, taking a handful and offering the bag up.

Steve smiled and bent to eat a chip from Tony’s hand, laughing when Tony pulled away in disgust.

“Hey! Those are mine,” Tony said, but relented when Steve pressed a line of kisses down his face, starting at his hair line and finishing just under his chin.

“You two are disgusting,” Sam said, chucking chips across the room at them when Tony turned to connect their lips. “Get that out of here.”

“Oi! I bought you those – stop wasting them!”

Tony blushed as he pulled away and Steve rolled his eyes fondly when Sam and Bucky started to bicker. They sat there quietly for a moment just watching as the other two poked and prodded each other, Steve reaching out and munching on chips every once in a while.

“Hey,” Tony whispered, pressing closer to Steve’s side but not looking up at him, “Thank you.”

“No need to thank me,” Steve said just as quietly, not drawing attention to them as he pulled Tony almost onto his lap, “you deserve the world.”

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> [I have a tumblr](http://s-horne.tumblr.com/) and I'm always down for new people!


End file.
